Northern Illinois gaming theft case wraps up with final guilty plea in Lee County

CHICAGO – A Romeoville man prosecuted by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has pleaded guilty and a Lee County judge sentenced him to prison for his role in a criminal operation that burglarized businesses and stole cash from video poker machines throughout the state.

Syed Zaidi, 42, of Romeoville pleaded guilty to Class 2 felony burglary. Lee County Circuit Court Judge Theresa Draper sentenced Zaidi to three years in prison, according to a news release sent Friday from Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

In August 2022, the Attorney General’s Office filed charges against six individuals, including Zaidi, alleging that they broke into businesses and robbed video gambling machines, stealing about $400,000.

The other five, all of whom have pleaded guilty, are Giulia Wuttke of Chatsworth; Gino Wuttke of Joliet – who is Giulia Wuttke’s son – Alyssa Slouka of Morris; Brian Morgan of Plainfield and Lucas Bailey of Wilmington.

Giulia Wuttke pleaded guilty last month to Class 3 felony conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 18 months of conditional discharge.

Giulia Wuttke forfeited about $4,100 that Illinois State Police seized when a warrant was executed at her home, and she was ordered to pay fines and court costs associated with the case.

In 2023, Gino Wuttke was sentenced to eight years in prison in Lee County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to one count each of Class 1 felony theft and Class 2 felony burglary.

Morgan was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the burglary ring.

Bailey was sentenced to three years in prison in Lake County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to one count of Class 2 felony burglary.

Slouka pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 52 days in jail and 24 months of probation.

“Members of this burglary ring targeted bars, restaurants, social clubs and other small businesses that have video poker and video gaming machines.” Raoul said. “They broke into dozens of these establishments in multiple counties and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash out of the machines.

“My office was able to hold them accountable because of countless hours of collaboration with several law enforcement agencies. I would like to thank these agencies for their hard work investigating this case.”

At the time Slouka and the Wuttkes were charged in 2022, prosecutors said they were accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from slot machines all across northern Illinois in 2021, then laundering the money by sending it to each other digitally and using it to buy jewelry and cars.

The 21 counties in which the crimes were said to have been committed are Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Lee, La Salle, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lake, Ogle, Bureau, Champaign, Kankakee, Vermillion, Iroquois, Stephenson, Carroll, Mason, McLean, McHenry and Will.

The Attorney General’s Office received support in its investigation from the Illinois Gaming Board and several law enforcement agencies, including the Illinois State Police; the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Joliet Police Department; and the DeKalb, Bureau, Grundy, Iroquois, Kendall and La Salle county sheriff’s offices.

“The Illinois State Police is committed to protecting the public and fully investigating cases to get criminals, like this burglary ring, off the streets,” ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly said.

Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multicounty cases involving drugs, money laundering, guns or electronics. Working regularly with state and federal counterparts, the bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale organized criminal activity.

Deputy Bureau Chief Andrew Whitfield prosecuted the cases for Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.

“Working with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies statewide, we successfully brought another offender to justice in this video gaming burglary ring,” Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said. “The Illinois Gaming Board will continue to work closely with our partners to safeguard the integrity and safety of Illinois gaming.”